Here are 7 things that you should NEVER say to a contractor; or said another way; here are 7 common ways that contractors can screw you. Whether a big or small job, hiring a contractor is serious business and you must adhere to the following guidelines in this video or else you stand a good chance of being taken advantage of. You'll learn real world wisdom on hiring and dealing with contractors.
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As a contractor myself I agree with most of Phil’s points except I will not do certain jobs with customer supplied materials. Yes, if you haggle with a supplier they will discount for bulk orders but you better believe they’re going to go out of their way to get rid of the worst materials they have on the shelves. They generally wont do that with us because we deal with them daily.
I get all my work from referrals and I feel that is the best way to find a contractor but ALWAYS do your research if you’ve never used them before!
i do light plumbing work now and then for investors…faucets. toilets etc.. they always want me to buy the cheap home depot glacier bay junk and i say ok but not gonna warranty anything..3 months later i am back fixing a leak and charging them a service call which is usually double what the good moen or delta product would have cost in the first place.
I disagree. Material Suppliers aren’t nearly as loyal to contractors as contractors may think (or try to convince clients). I can walk into any supplier and get a contractor’s account set up with them quickly and get the same discount as a contractor. But contractors are pros at convincing people that they can get a better discount than us non-contractors can. In the real world, I have seen where it is simply not true. Plus, material suppliers really like me because I always pay on time and/or upfront; unlike some contractors that fall behind on paying their materials tab
JDub Exactly! I’ve seen it many times and been burned by it myself, hence why I wont do it. Just turns into a huge headache on bigger jobs.
What you’re saying Phil is that your relationship with supply houses is better than the contractors, because of your longevity with them, and you pay cash up front. Makes sense, of course. Nothing wrong with that. Why not mentor contractors as well? Shitty contractors are everywhere. They need a course too. I think what I’m getting at is that stop bashing us low-lifes that can’t do biz 101 and turn us into super-stars for rehabs! LOL! Just a thought man!
Phil Pustejovsky Then you are the contractor and should hire subs!!!
I’m a remodeling contractor. I hear a lot of horror stories like this. I know there is something being left out of the story. That something is they hired the cheapest bidder or the first person who agreed to come out. Take the time to develop a relationship with an honest contractor like me. Don’t be in such a huge now, now, now rush that you can’t wait for your regular honest contractor to get an opening in his schedule to get to your project. Don’t expect people to work for free.
yeah all those jerks were cheapskates
dont bid what you cant do lot of people put up a front to get that job they havent had a job that big before and are winging it
out of 5 guys i hired to admin my server the lowballers cost me $1000.00
and 6 months aggrivation the $125.00 hr guy fixed all there screw ups and got my never gonna happen wish list done in under 30 min
Called 70 contractors…70 for a remodel job on a vacant house. They either didn’t call back, didn’t show up, or had excuses as to why they couldn’t show up.
Absolutely! cheap bidders.
@P K Correct. These “flippers” want it cheap and quick.
I was a contractor for almost 50 years and I wish my customers had seen your video. The contract works both ways and I can only guess at what some of my customers must have been imagining. BTW I never advertised my services, it was all word of mouth – be square with people and you’ll never lack for work.
I’m curious, do you have a few things that customers should never do to a contractor?
@Stephen Shelton in general, be honest. If the contractor isn’t working out figure out what he is owed, pay him and move on.
@Kman
mmm
You identified the biggest problem. Homeowners have a habit of imagining that contractors can read minds. Make a detailed list of your requirements and make it part of the contract.
@Franklin Mills That’s a good idea but they still quite frequently screw it up. The upside is that if you have everything in writing they either have to correct the problem on their dime or you can fire them and they really don’t have a leg to stand on to sue you for any work not done to spec. So you just pay them for what they did correctly and tell them to hit the road on the rest. Most of the time though they are honest enough to just fix the problem in large part because they know their guy screwed up and they don’t want a small problem to become a big PR nightmare.
Very valid points. Definitely get everything in writing, get before and after photos as well. This not only protects the consumer but it also protects the contractors as well. We try to educate our customers about the mistakes of going through those fly by night contractors and how to find someone or a company who will do a good job and who will stand by their work. Good Advice man! Keep it up!
even in writing, they don’t care. prepare as if you are going to court will help though. they still don’t care. even if you win, they will take off and never pay.
I love the passion. Protect us Phil! Dealing with contractors is frustrating.
I greatly appreciate your enthusiasm for proper dealings with Contractors. All of your points are well taken, and says a lot about your experience. Thousands of people would be better off if they heeded your advice. Trust no one. Get educated, learn, If we all did this properly, many contractors would accept the fact that they need to be more honest. You have armed us with great principles dealing with contractors. I know you have saved many people a great deal of financial losses, fustration and poor workmanship. Thank you Phil.
This is SUCH good info. I’m sure the issues are magnified at the commercial and higher-dollar residential level, but even on small household jobs like fencing and irrigating and painting there is something to be learned.
I’m a foreman for a contractor,
This guy is telling the truth, and honestly I’ve seen even worse,
I actually have wanted to start my own company just because I’ve witnessed so much and I know I could make a ton of money just by being honest.
This guy is credible
I’m a contractor just starting out that has worked for years for a very honest contractor. your video has given me a few tips on how to continue to do honest labor, because our marketing has mostly been word of mouth and usually that word is “they’re honest”. I want to keep this reputation while starting out on my own and your video has given me tips on staying that way. I was irked, to be honest, because 99% percent of these “scams” we have never done, and the ones we have were not out of ill intent or was offered by the customer. And yes i am offended by many of your “they” statements but at the same time I see the others that we have to come in and finish the job behind. so as crass as your video is, your video has helped me to stay and honest contractor. thank you.
Phil, I really appreciate your taking the time and energy and thought that you put into the making of this video. It is obvious that you are experienced in REI, and this is VERY HELPFUL to us newbies. Thanks Again
Rarely will you ever see Phil so animated, so urgent on a topic as this one. This is important information.
Thanks Phil for sharing basic but important information. I’m working on my first investment property and have yet been able to find the right contractors for the job. Hopefully learning from you will assist me thanks!
I’ve been a licensed and bonded independent residential remodeling contractor for over twenty-five years now and can vouch for every single one of these from the devil’s side, lol, having experienced the pain that comes from not adhering to these rules both as a contractor and a home owner. Kudos for an excellent video.
You’re also poor and probably complain about taxation. This is all poor people scarcity stuff. U get what you pay for. Not working for free or cheap. A guy at NASA made 1,000 for tightening a bolt? I the best thing about the best country in the world is that we are still free to charge whatever as ridiculous as if sounds. And I I’m good at it you bet I’m gonna hold you hostage. Pay up or git. That simple. And then the buyer becomes enraged when I refuse to accept the price that they value me at. Seriously? How about I come to your job, perform an inch-by-inch analysis of everything you actually do, and then reassess your value as a human? I’ll come to your corporate office or hospital where you work. When I catch you texting your moron associates or looking at photos I’ll assume you do this daily. I’ll count all your time wasting and formulate an average n of hours you waste and then I’ll find other relevant variables in your line of duty and Ultimately decide that I can automate your job, pay you minimum, and keep you as a part timer.
In your case, I’ll count All the time you waste at Ace hardware looking at tools and supplies and products that are completely irrelevant to the project at hand. Tell me I’m lying I’m an administrator, entrepreneur, market and most recently–builder. Because the morons I was employing at age 17 thought I was only capable of hitting keys and scheduling jobs. Turns out I can work faster and smarter on the computer AND with a drill.
I wanna see this guy pushing a wheel barrow for an hour. Let me put you both to work and remind you where you came from. Maybe he didn’t come from where we or I came from. I might as well be from Tijuana or Africa.
Oh and Im a real estate advisor…same thing. No one understands the hard work involved. Both trades need to…..trade for a week and then go talk smack about one another.
Just move to Florida and somebody told me if the contractor is using subcontractors, get a release of lien before you pay them
This is huge of you. I literally only trust contractors I have a friendship with, or develop a relationship with them during the work.
Easy do the work by yourself…
wish we could do that here in California@@rockn997
Great points Phil! I would add as a contractor, never tell your contractor that you aren’t or don’t want to get permits for your renovation. You will get a cheaper quote but it won’t be to code and it will be rushed, poor quality work that is more likely to fail.
As a single woman and business owner I can happily say I have always had good deals… because I stuck with all these rules all these years! Always at least 3-4 bids! It’s not just the price either. You want to pick someone you LIKE. I like buying my own materials (like faucets and bathroom cabinet) and getting a fair estimate up front for installation. Also, I want to see a nice folder of photos of previous jobs. Also, before hiring someone for a very big job, hire them for a small job and see how good it turns out. This will give you a preview of coming attractions. Ask a lot of questions, that way they are more careful not to rob a well informed client. If they out talk you or get arrogant or defensive, they will be hard to work with. Don’t be afraid to oversee the work. Some of these guys don’t have a lot going on in the Common Sense department. If they pull a no show, don’t bother calling them back. Chasing people to work is no way to do business. If they don’t respect your time or have integrity, don’t enable them because they will keep being that way. Make sure you get a Playbill of how the progress of work is to be done and always ask how long it takes to do it. Anyways, all these things matter when living in a world where finding the right contractor is like being a boss hiring an employee. What makes you the boss? Your wallet.
Very well said!
I appreciate you making this video! There are not many people like you out there who tells the full truth regarding this stuff. Thank you brother, again I appreciate it.
So what I got from this is:
1. 3 bids minimum (make them compete)
2. verify materials and labor costs are justified
3. only pay upfront costs that make sense but never over 20% project cost
4. Tell the contractor you expect it done in a timely matter or simply put industry standard.
5. I choose materials while also taking advice consideration from experts.
6. Always check and see who is doing the work.
7. If its not in the contract it either better be before the project starts or I aint paying it.
Thank you – that saved me from wasting 20 minutes on this verbose shouting rant
Phil, I hope you’re still making videos and involved in real estate investing. I am so grateful that I came across your channel when I was Googling a question about contractor fees and how they set them. I was relieved to know that we didn’t accidentally hire a bad apple contractor — they practically ALL ARE. And when he revealed to us that he has a criminal record, I was not at all surprised. For years I’ve been around in-laws, neighbors, workers, employees and contractors who were alcoholic / drug addicts / convicts / codependent / mentally ill / struggling financially. I started wondering why we were attracting that negative energy — but it’s everywhere you look!!!! So for this video alone, I love your fire. Thank you. I actually had a cynical but eye-opening laugh when you mentioned Tennessee. The contractors so far show up between 10 and 11 and leave by 2:30 or 3:00. And even though the contract says “balance due at completion”, they’re always trying to ask for a draw. I love your idea that they’ll start losing money once they pass the deadline. That makes all the sense in the world. So thank you, love.
Watch my entire playlist on working with contractors: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLcPfCvShc59tDh6dRQUncACahekX9VLrg
Most contractors will screw you if they can. But armed with what I teach you on the subject, you can avoid getting screwed.
Every successful real estate investor has a mentor. Get your mentor here: https://www.freedommentor.com/apprentice
How do you get tuff with your GC?